


Reinhardt: the Movie

by WordsfortheDead



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Movie Pitch, Overwatch - Freeform, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, References to Torbjörn, Retirement, Sad Ending, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 06:49:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13992774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsfortheDead/pseuds/WordsfortheDead
Summary: MARVEL at the MAJESTY of the GREATEST hero the world has even known: REINHARDT. With the help of his friends, does REINHARDT have what it takes to save the orphans from the vile, disgusting, cruel, contemptible, awful,  and wicked Dr. Von Evil? OF COURSE HE DOES. HE'S REINHARDT.





	Reinhardt: the Movie

An explosion. The building crumbles. 

Silence.

Suddenly, the rubble stirs. A large slab of concrete shifts and is lifted by an incredibly muscular man! This man is large, strong, and dashingly handsome. He has an awesome beard and his teeth are as white as the snow in Oberstdorf. His hair is long and blonde and amazing. He wears formidable steel plating, rivaling the knights of old, but modernized with hydraulics and a large propulsion system on the back. A large jet-powered hammer lies beside him.

The epic hero lifts the heavy rubble high above his head. His name is Reinhardt Wilhelm! Known as Reinhardt, he travels the land righting wrongs and protecting the innocent!

Reinhardt’s manly voice fills the air: “Go, children! You’re free!”

Surging forth from the midst of the collapsed building, thirty or so orphans scamper to safety. Reinhardt has saved them because he’s so selfless and great. One small girl, clutching a raggedy doll, stops as she passes the mountain of a man. 

“Mr. Reinhardt? Are you my new dad?”

Reinhardt chuckles. “I am sorry, my dear, but my busy schedule of heroism would make me an improper guardian. I will not rest until you are adopted by parents that will provide you the attention you deserve!”

The child stares at him in awe. “I love you, Mr. Reinhardt.”

Reinhardt chuckles again, heartier this time. “I love you, too! But please, call me Reinhardt! Now run along, my dear!”

The girl nods and runs off after the other children. Assured that the building is now orphan-free, Reinhardt throws the gigantic slab of concrete behind him. It is super heavy but Reinhardt is really strong so he’s not even breaking a sweat yet.

“Bwa ha ha ha! Haaa!”

Reinhardt is surprised and turns around even though he’s been fighting this adversary the whole time. It was… Dr. Von Evil!

Von Evil is a lanky woman with long legs and a British accent. She has elaborately coiffed hair and a fiendish eyepatch. She stands atop a school bus (thankfully empty of potential hostages or victims) that she had caused to crash with her DEVIOUSNESS.

“Bwa ha ha HAAAA,” she cackles. “Reinhardt! YOU have fallen into MY trap!”

Reinhardt falls to his knees in lamentation. He beats the ground with his fists. He cries out, literal tears in his eyes. “You fiend! You dastardly fiend! You evil fiend!”

“BWA haha! You? Will die… NOW!” The evildoer reaches into her mad scientist’s lab coat, fishing underneath the Dread Generator™ harnessed across her chest for a tiny remote.

“BWAHA ha HA! You will die from my EVIL ROBOTS.” She depresses the large red button on the remote with an intimidating click. Swarms of menacing, floating machines swarm like a swarm from the ruins of the burning city around them. They sport large heads with a large, central red eye, pulsing with malice. Instead of arms, they have two large guns. They organize themselves in a semi-circle around the heroic Reinhardt.

“KILL. REINHARDT. DESTROY. REINHARDT. OBLITERATE. REINHARDT. KILL. DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.”

Multiple scary, potentially-lethal explosions go off behind the robots, making them look even more dreadful and loathsome.

Reinhardt gasps in a passionate manner, and raises his mighty translucent shield between himself and the robot army. Magnificent tears stream down Reinhardt’s chiseled face. He is afraid. Not of death, for Reinhardt is brave and willing to die for a noble cause. No, he is afraid of not stopping Dr. Von Evil and failing to prevent her evil army of robots from ruining the democratic process and freedom. “I know that I can crush 100 robots, but 1,000?! I don’t know if I can do this…”

The robots open fire, barraging Reinhardt’s shield with waves of bullets. Dr. Von Evil’s villainous laugh echoes through the air, somehow drowning out the sound of gunfire from 1,000 robots. Reinhardt grimaces, gritting his teeth. He digs in with his armoured feet, standing strong against the hail of fire. He’s bleeding now, despite none of the bullets hitting him, just a dramatic line of blood along the side of his head. Reinhardt screams in defiance. 

Still safe behind his shield (but who knows for how long), he raises his hammer to his face. “Are you ready, Hammerhoff?”

Reinhardt’s hammer opens its cartoonish eyes and mouth. It speaks in a high-pitched voice: “Sure am, Reiny! Let’s go kick some evil b-”

“Alright Lieutenant, I think that’s enough,” says a gruff voice.

\--------------------

Reinhardt stands before a number of seated persons, a stack of papers in-hand. He’s wearing his Overwatch dress uniform as opposed to his armoured Crusader suit.

Reinhardt is sweating. He’s nervous. A call was put out recently for ideas for potential Overwatch PR campaigns. Reinhardt immediately set out to prepare a screenplay about one of Overwatch’s great heroes: himself, Reinhardt. 

Around him are many of the organization's top agents and officers: Strike Commander Jack Morrison, Commander Gabriel Reyes, Captain Ana Amari, Dr. Angela Ziegler, Agent Lena “Tracer” Oxton, and more. Most of them sit in stunned silence. Morrison sits slouched forwards, his head in his hands. Amari looks concerned. Tracer bounces in her seat, excitedly giggling; she’s still wearing her Dr. Von Evil costume. 

Reyes is the first to break the silence: “Lieutenant, I- what is this?”

Reinhardt gives him a puzzled look. “Why, Reinhardt: the Movie, of course! We want stories of heroism, right? I’ve had many adventures, have I not?!”

Reyes winces. “No, I get that, but… this is fictional… right?” He looks around the room, whispering to Amari. “Right?”

Dr. Ziegler pipes in, doing her best to sound cheerful. “I like the effects! Very realistic!”

Reinhardt beams. “Oh, well, Torbjorn I originally cast as Dr. Von Evil but he said no. I asked Engineer Daniels to do pyrotechnics but when Torbjorn found out he said ‘pťhoögh... Daniels couldn’t light a candle in a wildfire…’ That’s when he drafted the munitions request.”

Tracer continues to fidget in her seat, full of unrestrained excitement. “I thought it was brilliant, Reiny!” She flips up her eyepatch, leaning towards the junior officer beside her. “Did you see me? I had so much fun shooting my scenes! ‘BWa ha HAAA…’” She giggles.

Others around the room begin to chitter amongst themselves. “I don’t know what I just watched.” “How did Reinhardt get permission to use the training bots for this? Was this why we couldn’t run drills on Thursday?” “We’re not really gonna put this in theatres are we?” “Where did all those children come from?”

Strike Commander Morrison clears his throat and the murmuring in the room stops. His runs a hand through his graying hair and takes a deep breath. He breathes out an exasperated sigh.

“Could all agents please leave the room? We need to discuss this with Wilhelm.”

Agents get up and leave in an orderly fashion. Tracer is talking to Dr. Ziegler: “Hey doc, could you take a picture of me in costume? I’ve been talking to this girl back home and I think she’d get a kick out of this. Should I do a villainous pose or…”

The door slides shut with a muted fssshh. Reinhardt is alone with the most senior officers of Overwatch. Morrison and Reyes look uncomfortable. Ana gives Reinhardt a sympathetic smile.

Reinhardt’s sweating is worse now.

Morrison is blunt: “Is everything okay, Wilhelm?”

“What? Of course, commander! I’m fine! Okay, maybe not all of this is one hundred percent realistic, but we have to embellish, right? We have to tell a good story for the kids!”

Morrison sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You want us to represent Overwatch, the world leader in science and security, with a cartoon hammer?”

“The kids will love the adventures of Reinhardt and Hammerhoff!”

The three officers eye each other nervously.

Ana leans forward in her seat. “Wilhelm, I’m sorry but we cannot greenlight this,” she says gently.

“Your proposal is denied, Lieutenant,” Morrison states sternly.

Rejected. Reinhardt’s tense shoulders droop. His gaze drops to the floor. He can’t look his fellow officers in the eyes right now.

Reyes breathes out a gentle sigh. “Look, I know mandatory retirement is coming up. I know you don’t wanna go, but…”

Reinhardt blurts it out: “I don’t want to be forgotten.”

The three officers are stunned to silence. Reinhardt is crying, literal tears in his eyes. Reinhardt grips his screenplay tightly in his hands, his tears blotting the front page. All Overwatch agents face a mandatory retirement from active duty at a certain age, an age Reinhardt that reached. He was offered desk jobs, even promotions to go with it, but for Reinhardt fieldwork is his life. Without it, how could he be Reinhardt? He was a Crusader through and through.

Morrison looks to Reyes for help. He gives a slight bewildered shrug. Ana whispers something to him. Morrison nods in agreement. He gestures to Reyes and the two men get up to leave.

At the door, Jack turns around, still clearly uncomfortable. “Anything you need before Friday, Wilhelm?”

Friday. His retirement party.

“No, Commander, everything should be fine. Thank you, old friend.” As Morrison turns towards the door, Reinhardt changed his mind. “Actually, umm… open bar?”

Morrison laughs. “Already taken care of.”

Reinhardt smiles and wipes his tear-stained cheeks with the sleeve of his uniform. “You know me too well.”

With that, Reyes and Morrison salute and leave the room, leaving Ana alone with the blubbering German.

Ana guides him to a nearby chair, sitting him down before sitting herself. She takes his large hands in hers and allows him to cry.

\--------------------

It’s Sunday now. Reinhardt finds himself in the ruined city of Eichenwalde. For the first time in decades he is a civilian. The sky is overcast and dark. Reinhardt walks through the devastated city.

He and the few remaining Crusaders had petitioned the German government to leave the city as is, a monument to the sacrifices of the first Omnic Crisis and the heroes that rose to the occasion. Reinhardt never had the courage to come back here while he was a member of Overwatch. He dreamt of this place often, but he never felt worthy of returning. He joined Overwatch as the final wish of his mentor. He dedicated his life to defending the innocent from peril and standing up for what is right. He comes to this place with medals adorning his chest from countless campaigns of the past: the Siege of Paris, the Second London Bombing, countless Omnium Offenses…

The Battle of Eichenwalde.

Memories flash through the mind of the old soldier. Withering gunfire from the oncoming Bastions, the flying shrapnel of the units he smashed, the cobblestone flying from beneath his armoured, rocket-powered feet…

He passes the spot where he wrestled with the massive OR-14. He reflexively put a hand to the eye it blinded. Although Reinhardt refused to admit it at the time, he was lucky he wasn’t alone then.

The train of thought gives Reinhardt pause. His mentor was the one who saved him there. Reinhardt grits his teeth reluctantly and pushes forward.

He trudges through upturned cobblestone street. Shops and homes on both sides of the street are ruined. The masonry crumbles around him. The region is silent, save for the song of far-off birds and the sound of gentle zephyrs rolling through the valley. All around him were the remains of old German Army vehicles, crippled Omnic walkers, and crumpled Bastion units. More memories flash through the veteran’s mind.

Before long he reaches Eichenwalde Castle’s grand wooden doors, blown apart by overwhelming Omnic firepower. He oversteps the rubble at the entryway. A great number of Omnic war machines can be found strewn about the great hall. One unit on an upper gantry lies skewered by Reinhardt’s old rocket hammer, a relic he left here out of respect for the battle’s fallen.

This place is exactly as he left it all those years ago, a living memory to the fallen of that blasted conflict. Reinhardt appreciates yet resents its silence, its purity. What good is a memorial if no one cares to visit it? Is this place forgotten by the world? Are the moments it represents even deemed as important anymore?

For Reinhardt, this was where part of him died.

He rounds the corner, stepping over the remains of machines as delicately as a man his size could. He sees him then: Balderich von Adler, his former mentor and leader of the Crusaders. He still sat where he fell in his armour all those years ago: on his throne, hammer near to his hand, and smashed Bastions surrounding him. Eichenwalde is where he was born and Eichenwalde is where he died.

The sight of his old comrade hits Reinhardt in the gut hard. Tears swell in his eyes once again. Before him is the most honourable man he has ever met. The lord of Eichenwalde died in glory, his final moments consumed in the pursuit of defending others. He did not rest until his soldiers and country were safe. Without him, Germany could have been destroyed. 

And now? Reinhardt worries he is the only one who remembers him.

He approached the wooden throne, kneeling before the armoured lord with his fist curled tight before his heart. 

“Hello, old friend.” He could hardly speak amidst his sobbing. “It’s been so long.”

Clutched in his fist is the Overwatch medallion Balderich gave him so many years ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to tim3hopp3r and lucien for being my best war buddies in talking about Overwatch and all sorts of other nonsense.


End file.
